Identification of Potential Harmful Transformation Products of Selected Micropollutants in Outdoor and Indoor Swimming Pool Water

Abstract

This paper presents the estimation of micropollutant decomposition effectiveness and the identification of transformation intermediates formed during selected processes used in the treatment of swimming pool water. Tests were carried out under both indoor and outdoor conditions to simulate the removal of contaminants in different types of pool water basins. Model swimming pool water spiked with caffeine, carbamazepine, bisphenol A and oxadiazon were subjected to chlorination, ozonation, UV radiation, and artificial and sun lightening, carried out as single or combined processes. It was noted that organic micropollutants decompose faster during exposure to natural sunlight than artificial lighting. Caffeine and carbamazepine belong to compounds that are resistant to single ozone or light decomposition. Bisphenol A was completely removed by the action of the chlorination agent NaOCl. The highest compound removal degrees were noted for the integrated action of natural sunlight, NaOCl and O3. This process allows also for the decomposition of all caffeine and oxadiazon decomposition by-products that potentially are toxic to swimming pool users.

Photoelectrocatalytic Based Simultaneous Removal of Multiple Organic Micro-Pollutants by Using a Visible Light Driven Bivo4 Photoanode

“…The identification and quantification of intermediate products of OMPs are quite challenging because of the low initial concentration of parent OMP in the reaction solution [64]. Moreover, analysing the intermediate products of more than one OMP in a solution is complex [65] and was beyond the scope of this study.…”

The Threat of Food Additive Occurrence in the Environment—A Case Study on the Example of Swimming Pools

“…These are very special types of water streams because a number of different anthropogenic pollutants introduced by swimmers then get into the pool water, including not only food additives, but also Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) [ 12 , 13 ], industrial additives and flame retardants [ 14 , 15 ]. Due to the specificity of the operation of swimming pool installations and treatment plants, in this particular water environment, pollutant accumulation processes, many physical transformations and chemical reactions occur (i.e., oxidation, chlorination, photodegradation), leading to the formation of very harmful by-products [ 16 ], including disinfection by-products (DBP), for example trichloromethane or pentachlorophenol, that are not only classified as priority substances in the field of water policy [ 17 ] particularly harmful to the environment but may also pose a serious threat to human health [ 18 , 19 , 20 ] due to their genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Nowadays, the literature already describes over 600 harmful DBPs formed in swimming pools.…”